Academic Hall: Before and After the 1892 Fire
Academic Hall Exhibit is located on the second floor of the Missouri Student Center in the Traditions Lounge. Academic Hall, whose cornerstone was laid in 1840, was the academic heart of Missouri State University, as the University of Missouri-Columbia was known in the nineteenth century. Students had both classes and extracurricular activities in this building. The original Academic Hall on the quadrangle on a snowy day. Courtesy of the State Historical Society Manuscript Collection (Joseph L. Douglass Studio Photographs P0434). A close-up of Academic Hall. Missouri Alumnus 1922. Also part of the original Academic Hall was a museum of natural history that contained mounted animals such as gorillas, a giraffe, a hippo, a rhino, a manatee, a whale, caribou, and many birds. One of the most notable animals in the museum was Emperor the Elephant. Emperor was the impetus for the museum and was purchased by Samuel Spahr Laws, the University President from 1876-1879. Empe